Tag Archives: next left

Shouldn’t Labour MPs just nominate the candidate they think is best for the job?

By Stephen Tall | Sat 5th June 2010 - 10:50 am

I’ve been intrigued these past couple of days to see the main Labour blogs fall over themselves to argue that the current three front-runners for the Labour leadership – now they have the MP nominations needed to be on the ballot – should urge their parliamentary colleagues to nominate one of the three also-ran contenders to ensure “the widest possible field of candidates in the leadership election”.

I can understand the principle behind the campaign, of course. Frankly, if I were in the shoes of a Labour member (as I was for a number of years), I …

Posted in News | Also tagged david miliband, labour leadership contest, LabourList, left foot forward, tom harris and tribune | 21 Comments

Now the Daily Mail thinks election is about leader’s wife’s underwear

By Mark Pack | Sun 25th April 2010 - 9:23 pm

Elections used to about politicians. Then they became about politicians and their spouses. Now the Daily Mail introduces us to politicians, their spouses and their underwear choices with a “story” about where Miriam Gonzalez Durantez buys her underwear.

As Next Left points out, the story doesn’t have a name to it – just the generic “Daily Mail reporter” by-line. I wonder why?

UPDATE: As pointed out by several people on Twitter, the News of the World ran a similar piece first.

UPDATE 2: And as for Jan Moir’s contribution: sigh.

Posted in News | Also tagged daily mail, jan moir and miriam gonzalez durantez | 4 Comments

How can we sell the Single Transferable Vote to the public?

By Stephen Tall | Thu 11th February 2010 - 10:25 am

The last 24 hours’ focus on voting systems – surely every Lib Dem’s dream come true? – have highlighted just how hard it will be to gain acceptance for the party’s preferred proportional voting system, the single transferable vote.

It’s no surprise that almost all MPs from the two establishment parties, Labour and the Tories, are desperate to hold onto the electoral system that secures their cosy hold on power: just five Labour/Tory MPs voted to include STV in any referendum on voting reform.

But it will also be the case that a significant portion of the country will …